Malva sylvestris

High mallow, High Mallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

High mallow is a naturalized perennial herb found in northwestern California, central western California, and southern coastal California in disturbed places at elevations generally below 300 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces bright purple or pink flowers with dark veins, typically 15 to 30 millimeters long. Growing with erect stems 50 to 300 centimeters tall and covered in sparse simple and star-shaped hairs, it develops distinctive foliage. Its rounded to kidney-shaped leaves are 5 to 10 centimeters wide, often with shallow lobes and scalloped edges. The fruit develops in segments with wrinkled sides and sharp outer edges.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed places

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: generally < 300 m

Bioregions: NW, CW, SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.